The Blitz Machine
Tom Borvander, better known on the chess clock as Gaddamer, is a blitz lifer. If the preferred time control says blitz, Tom says “perfect,” and then presses start again. Since 2017 he has played over 71,000 rated blitz games, a total best described not as a hobby but as a full-time side quest.
The rating graph is a slow, honest climb, with plateaus, spikes, and the occasional cannonball into a losing streak. For a player this loyal to the shortest time controls, that is the whole charm:
Opening DNA
As White, Tom is a devoted 1.d4 player. He finds his way into the Catalan as well as the Slav Defense Bonet Gambit, where the board gets complicated before the coffee gets cold. As Black, he has built a surprising fortress around the Ruy Lopez Brix Variation, playing it thousands of times with a mix of stubbornness and dramatic flair.
Tom is also not afraid of a little chaos. The Blackburne Shilling Gambit appears in his history, which is your first clue that he values entertainment almost as much as accuracy.
His opening report card looks like this:
Favorite Rivalry
No opponent has shared more clock time with Tom than aflatunmamedov. Their bloated rivalry includes 212 blitz meetings, so by now they probably exchange opening prep in their sleep. Tom has 70 wins in that series, and the rematches are still queuing up.
The 3 AM Special
Tom’s internal engine seems to ignite at 3:00 in the morning. If you meet a player who suddenly finds deep tactics when the rest of the lobby is yawning, that is probably Gaddamer. He also tends to be sharper with White, which is a polite warning for anyone who lets him play first.
Longest winning streak: 14. Longest losing streak: 15. Most importantly, Tom is still on the board, still taking rematches, and still proving that blitz will eventually reward anyone who refuses to stop pressing the clock.